Russian Ways
The Russian state security agency FSB tries to insert spies and informants into places everywhere and always: This much is safe to assume. It was a habit of the czarist state, and the brutal aggression of that habit became even greater after the bolshevik takeover. The state institution originally set up in part to suppress revolutionaries at home and abroad became a core weapon for those revolutionaries to defeat anyone who threatened their own power.
That history aside, a report from the Russian news organization Meduza—banned in Russia proper—shows how casually the FSB tries to recruit its operatives. They are perpetually on the lookout to match individuals of the right ethnicity to the task of spying among Russia’s enemies, and, where possible, of carrying out clandestine activity to weaken them.
The Russian Federation contains numerous Eurasian ethnic groups from among which to recruit spies. They are useful for infiltrating Middle Eastern and Central Asian groups who threaten the motherland. A common procedure used by the FSB is to identify individuals caught violating the law and then to blackmail them into working for the Russian state. Thus, Meduza traces the story of the young man Baurzhan Kultanov originally from the Russian province of Astrakhan, who traveled abroad to join Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization in Syria. Caught by the authorities, he was soon given the option of a prison sentence or working for the FSB with the objective of infiltrating the Ukrainian military.
Kultanov’s story alone sheds some light on Russia’s subversive activities, much of which is told in a casual fashion as if it were routine. As the article explains in the context of the porous southern U.S. border, the strategy is simply to play the numbers: Throw thousands of blackmailed spies at the project, and enough will get through to have an impact.
It makes for an interesting case study in how Russia—not to mention America’s other enemies and rivals—think, how they approach covert action.
Afternoon Everyone
Kevin's Piece on Ukraine, which just posted a bit ago is a great read on Ukraine and the War, well worth it. I even teared up.
I just turned the AC on, so it must be hot outside...lol
Have some chores to do I am procrastinating about...lol
Day with my siblings yesterday was fun.
That's all I got...lol
We have covert operations, too, and I'm not sure they are always above-board in their dealings. My point is not that we are as bad, just that it is a shame that nations think this is necessary.